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In response to a request from the Congress, NIH is developing a 5-year NIH-wide Strategic Plan to advance its mission to support research in pursuit of fundamental knowledge about the nature and behavior of living systems, and the application of that knowledge to extend healthy life and reduce illness and disability. Senior leadership and staff from all 27 Institutes, Centers, and Offices (ICOs) are contributing to the proposed direction and content of the Strategic Plan, with input from the Advisory Committee to the Director, NIH.

A new study overturns longstanding scientific ideas regarding how energy is distributed within muscles for powering movement. Scientists are reporting the first clear evidence that muscle cells distribute energy primarily by the rapid conduction of electrical charges through a vast, interconnected network of mitochondria—the cell’s “powerhouse”—in a way that resembles the wire grid that distributes power throughout a city. The study offers an unprecedented, detailed look at the distribution system that rapidly provides energy throughout the cell where it is needed for muscle contraction.

Scientists have identified a group of genetic mutations in patients with aplastic anemia, which likely will help doctors optimize treatment for this rare and deadly blood condition. The study, appearing in the New England Journal of Medicine, could lead to tailor-made treatment plans for aplastic anemia patients as part of the emerging precision medicine movement. It is the largest study of its kind to examine gene mutations in aplastic anemia, the scientists note.

WHAT: Scientists have developed an efficient method of producing substantial quantities of RNA molecules with selectively labeled regions, paving the way for more advanced research and medical applications. RNA — DNA's lesser-known partner molecule — plays a significant role not only in genetic activities but in many other biological functions like enzymatic processes. It also is an important research, medical diagnostic, and therapeutic tool.

WHAT: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is sponsoring the Sickle Cell Disease Forum, “Engaging the Community: Developing Solutions.” The Forum is designed to assemble members of the sickle cell disease community—including patients and their families, advocates, health care professionals, researchers, community and professional organizations, policymakers, government agencies, and industry—to share insights, experiences and needs and to help chart the future of sickle cell disease research.

WHAT: Scientists are reporting development of a new way to modify interleukin-2 (IL-2), a substance known as a cytokine that plays key roles in regulating immune system responses, in order to fine-tune its actions. Harnessing the action of IL-2 in a controllable fashion is of clinical interest with potential benefit in a range of situations, including transplantation and autoimmune disease.

On World Asthma Day 2015, the National Institutes of Health stands with the international community to renew our commitment to advance our understanding of asthma and develop effective strategies to manage and prevent the disease. Within a broad asthma research portfolio, NIH-supported scientists are making progress in understanding how certain exposures—such as to microbes, allergy-triggering substances (allergens) and pollution—may contribute to the development or worsening of asthma, and are working on new approaches to address these factors.

A large-scale, multicenter study has shown that emergency body cooling does not improve survival rates or reduce brain injury in infants and children with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest more than normal temperature control.

Therapeutic hypothermia, or whole body cooling, can improve survival and health outcomes for adults after cardiac arrest and also for newborns with brain injury due to a lack of oxygen at birth. But, until now, this treatment has not been studied in infants or children admitted to hospitals with cardiac arrest.

Researchers have begun enrolling participants in a multicenter international clinical trial to test whether statin administration can reduce the risk for major adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, strokes, and heart disease, in people with HIV infection. The trial is supported by the National Institutes of Health’s National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

A National Institutes of Health-funded study found no statistical difference in the primary clinical measure—which assessed changes in function of six organs from before to seven days after surgery—between complex cardiac surgery patients receiving transfusions of red blood cell units stored for short (up to 10 days) versus long (21 or more days) periods. These findings indicate there is no need to alter how hospitals currently transfuse blood in adults going through complex cardiac surgical procedures.